Representative Jess Edwards spoke with the commission’s executive director Joni Esperian who explained how the current laws already help transgender people who feel discriminated against:

The New Hampshire Constitution serves to protect the human rights of all the people under Articles I & II. To enforce those rights, the New Hampshire Commission for Human Rights has had the authority for 30 years to hear gender identity cases .

Currently the Commission has one gender identity case in the backlog of 338 cases as of the end of February. This is data provided to one of the Finance committees as they request additional investigators.

In the past decade, there have been four other gender identity cases which got resolved before a Commissioner needed to issue a probable cause ruling.

In short, there has been Constitutional and legal structure to enforce gender identity non-discrimination in New Hampshire for 30 years. That authority arose from the judicial branch in the decision Jane Doe v. Electro – Craft Corporation.

In the past decade, there have been four other gender identity cases which got resolved before a Commissioner needed to issue a probable cause ruling.

Esperian said she thinks the Constitutional arguments for protecting transgender rights is sound and that the Commission benefits now from precedent.

House Bill 478 was rightfully tabled last year after massive outcry against it from actual Granite Staters. Unfortunately, those who seek to use this legislation for political games have resurrected it in the New House of Representatives. It’s the same exact legislation that will cause the same exact problems as the last piece of legislation.

This time it is Republicans in the New Hampshire House of Representatives who are sponsoring the legislation that will not only give special rights to a certain group of people but it will also punish those who don’t conform to the individual beliefs of this group of people. The legislation is House Bill 1319 (HB 1319), AN ACT prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity.

The laws haven’t changed. Trans people and everyone else in New Hampshire, can still use existing laws to protect against discrimination. The “gender identity” bill is being used as a lie in order to grant special rights to a specific group of people. No one should be discriminated against. New Hampshire already has existing laws that offer equal protection to everyone under current rules.

Individuals have every right to believe whatever they want about themselves but the gender identity bill forces others, via the strong arm of the government, to conform to the individual beliefs of this specific class of people, or else. For the record, there are 71 “gender identities” that have been created and counting, as new ones are made up every day.

These out-of-state trans activists will continue to push lies about current discrimination laws along with some uninformed Republicans they’ve claimed as bed fellows this time as well. Meanwhile, the truth about the legislation and its creation of a special class of people with special rights is completely being ignored.